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The ultimate goal of every small business (or in fact, any business regardless of its size) is to get ahead of the competition, grow and increase its revenue. Often times, it is enough for a company to stick to the tried and true tenets of doing good business, but often times, there is need for those little tricks other SMB owners do not think of. Today, we will be talking about these little tricks and how they can do wonders for a smartly run small business.

Use Outsourcing

Outsourcing is one of the smartest things small business owners can do and this is especially true for certain aspects of running their company. For example, you should definitely outsource your IT department since you will probably have no need for an in-house IT team that will cost an arm and a leg and that you will use every two weeks. You might also consider an outsourced customer support and telemarketing teams where you will be saving money and reaping the benefits of companies with decades of experience.

Debt Recovery When Needed

One of the worst things that can happen to your SMB is that you have people and companies that owe you money for services rendered and that are always coming up with new ways and legal reasons not to pay up. For larger companies, this is not such a big problem because they have more revenue streams and they can afford if someone is late with their payment. For smaller companies, this is just not possible. This is why experts from a debt recovery company from Perth always recommend their SMB clients to pursue their debtors immediately. This way, you will always have the cash flow needed for your company to operate.

Reducing Employee Turnover

Many SMB owners believe that employee turnover is simply a reality of running a small business. They think that they cannot keep their employees no matter what they do and that they will go to bigger employers if given a chance. This is not true. You can keep your employees and stop bleeding money by having to replace them. For one, you need to pay them what they are worth and you need to make sure you provide as many benefits for them as you can. Also, they need to know they are being appreciated and that their opinions matter. Treat your employees right and they will pay you back, manifold while your competitors will be scrambling for new people every few months.

Base Your Marketing On Numbers

Often, when you run a small business, marketing sort of gets lost in the shuffle and you figure that anything is better than nothing. You set aside some money to boost your visibility and you sort of forget about it. As long as you are surviving, it works, right? Wrong. Your marketing efforts need to show just as much factual results as anything else. If you cannot see the palpable, real-world benefits of a certain marketing campaign, then it is not worth the investment. It is especially important to keep track of your online marketing success rate because you can easily fool yourself into thinking that a hundred more social media followers means result. It doesn’t.

Remove Guesswork

There is a reason huge corporations spend millions every year on business analytics and entire teams of analysts that predict how the market will move and what the company should do. This way, they base their decisions on data and analytics models instead of on guesswork. This way, they are dramatically increasing their chances of making the right decisions. The good news is that SMBs can nowadays utilize data and analytics thanks to various SaaS providers and pieces of software that can provide some truly fantastic insights to act on. This is the 21st century and the sooner you get your SMB into it, the better you will be off.

Like we mentioned on a few occasions, running a small-to-medium business is a 24/7 kind of a job. It more or less becomes your life and there are innumerable things to keep in mind and juggle around. Of course, a huge part of it all will be your company’s finances. This will entail wages, income vs. expenses, retirement plans, contract negotiations, negotiations with suppliers, tax and insurance paperwork and so much more.

For someone who is struggling to keep their SMB afloat and who is dealing with numerous strictly business-oriented problems, keeping track of finances and making sure every financial decision is the right one can be quite difficult.

This brings us to the star of our article today – the independent financial advisor who will not be an employee of yours in the strictest sense of the word but who will still do work for you, making sure your SMB is being expertly handled from the financial standpoint.

How an IFA Helps You

There are innumerable things that an independent financial advisor can do for you and your company and, in the end, it will all depend on what you need from them.

For example, many SMBs need a financial helping hand in the earliest of days. Namely, a number of SMBs do not get structured and registered the right way and they suffer down the line. This is especially true if there are a few partners who are getting into the venture together and who are not quite sure how to get things rolling. An IFA will be the objective actor here, giving advice on what the best course of action is.

They will also ensure that you do not rush into things when handling other, more specific financial matters. For example, they will help you find the right insurance company and the right plan. They will also probably know some people who will handle your taxes in the best way possible. They are, basically, your protection against getting into bad deals and putting your SMB in danger.

Your independent financial advisor will also be able to take care of some more advanced financial dealings. For example, they might advise you on perhaps purchasing another business or partnering up with someone. They will put everything on paper and try to figure out whether this is something that would benefit your business from a purely financial standpoint.

They can also think of ways in which certain improvements that are a sizeable investment can actually be a great financial move. A great example of this are green home improvements that are made more alluring for SMBs through financing plans like PACE and other government-sponsored incentives.

How to Recognize the Right IFA for Your Company

Of course, in order to reap all the benefits of having an IFA work for you and your company, you should find someone who knows what they are doing and who fits well with your company.

The best place to start are your fellow SMB owners who might have used the services of an IFA themselves and who have someone to recommend. You can also check the local directories and websites where IFAs advertise their services.

When narrowing your search, you should look at the areas in which they are true experts. For instance, one IFA can be better at day-to-day financial dealings of an SMB while others might be more versed in investments and purchases.

You will also want to check their past track record and talk to people who hired their services in the past. It is also a good idea to try and discover whether they will be a good fit for you and your business philosophy. This is something that often gets overlooked

Closing Word

The business world has become so harsh for the SMB owners that they need all the help they can get. If you can afford it, finding a great independent financial advisor can turn out to be the best decision you have made for your SMB.